Not Falling Apart
by Vicious Blueyes
Summary: Sakura plus someone, to be revealed soon! M rating for hot steamy love!
1. Chapter 1

Just a little introduction, the next chapters will be longer….I wanted to keep the other main character a secret for now. Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter…if you're lucky! There may also be a little hot action (hence the M rating) in the next chapter or so!

* * *

_Sakura's heart pounded in her chest as she raced through the trees._

_'Please, body, hold out just a little while longer,' she pleaded with herself._

_As the trees thinned, she could see a body lying on its side on the ground._

_As she drew nearer, she saw the blood covering the ground all around the body. She could not sense a chakra signature at all. She was too late._

_"NO!!!" she shrieked as tears gushed from her eyes._

_That was when she saw the other body, facedown in the grass about 100 feet away._

_Sakura fell to her knees, convulsing as pain racked her body. A sob escaped her throat as she reeled, trying to force back the nausea._

_She managed to pull herself forward and drag her shaking limbs across the grass toward the motionless body._

_As she approached, she could see a deep red chasm gashed diagonally from shoulder to hip._

_She whimpered as she reached the body, knees sinking in the bloody grass._

_She instinctively raised one glowing, shaking hand and ran it over the wound, healing it enough to temporarily stop the bleeding._

_Then, trembling, she grabbed the man's shoulder and pushed him over onto his side._

_His eyes stared forward, cold, unblinking…dead._

_Sakura choked, sobs rolling out of her. Her hot tears spilled over, dripping from her face and mingling with the blood on the ground._

_"WHY!?!?" she screamed, sobbing. "WHY?!?!"_

_It was then that Sakura heard the evil laugh behind her. Her eyes blurred with tears; she could only make out a dark figure, red eyes burning into her, before she passed out._


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura sat up in bed, hands clutching the sheet. She could still feel the sickening waves of nausea rolling over her.

She sucked down the cool night air in deep gasps, forcing herself to calm down.

As her stomach settled and her heartbeat resumed its normal pace, relief washed over her. She'd had dreams like that before, but this had been the worst one yet. It had felt so real—probably because it was such a terrifyingly possible fate.

Though she had forced herself to relax, Sakura could still taste the bitter fear that made her mouth dry.

But behind the fear, another emotion started to grow. She suddenly felt incredibly anxious, as though she were watching the seconds tick away on a bomb.

Something swelled inside her, and Sakura tossed the covers aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

She shivered as her pointed toes made their first contact with the cold wood floor; her black boy shorts and tiny white tank top offered little warmth in the cold night air coming in through her window.

As she grabbed a lightweight pink cardigan lying on the floor and shrugged into it, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table: 2:57 A.M.

Her mind seemed completely detached from her body as she crossed her moonlit bedroom and slid open the door leading out to the balcony. Not bothering with shoes, she stepped out onto the rough wooden planks, sliding the door shut behind her.

Sakura leapt lightly onto the railing of the balcony. She crouched down, taking a quick scan of the surrounding darkness. Without another thought, she jumped.

She landed easily on the roof of the building next to her apartment and immediately took off. She raced across the rooftop, leaping across to the next building as the reached the edge of the roof.

She treated the next four buildings the same way, crossing the rooftops with ease, her long pink hair flowing behind her. As she reached the edge of the last building she crouched again, surveying the apartment building in front of her.

All the rooms were dark, including her destination: the second apartment from the left, on the top floor. She really wasn't surprised, considering how late it was.

Sakura suddenly felt a nervous knot develop in her stomach. 'What am I doing?!' her rational side questioned. 'What feels right—now get going!!!' Inner Sakura retorted.

With a hint of a smile on her face, Sakura pushed aside her doubts and jumped silently down to the balcony she had been staring at.

She landed noiselessly, bending her legs as her feet hit the railing to cushion her landing.

She stretched her shapely legs down over the railing and tiptoed to the sliding door. She pushed her palm against the door, though she was sure it would be locked. It was.

It would have been so easy for Sakura to just blast a hole through the wall with her fist. However, that would have attracted a little more attention than she wanted right now, so she opted for a stealthier solution.

She placed her pale polished fingertips on the door where she knew the lock was located on the other side. Sending a small wave of chakra into the lock she managed to shatter the mechanism mostly soundlessly.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She slid the door open as quietly as possible and stepped into the dark bedroom, turning to slide the door shut behind her.

As she turned back around she let her eyes adjust to the pitch black bedroom. This bedroom didn't have quite as big a window as hers did, so the amount of moonlight shining in was minimal.

When her eyes finally adjusted (it seemed like hours before she could see anything) she wasn't surprised to see the outline of a figure sitting up in the bed. Realizing that she could be seconds away from death by shuriken, she stepped into the patch of moonlight so her face was visible.

A small sigh of relief came from the bed, and the figure relaxed slightly. "So it is you, Sakura. I recognized your chakra signature, but I was still a little suspicious. You don't usually break into my apartment in the middle of the night…"

His voice caught in his throat as the realization of what he was saying hit him. He sat straight up, body rigid. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" he asked, voice full of anxious concern.

"No, I'm fine. I didn't mean to alarm you," Sakura said quietly, taking a step towards the bed.

His body relaxed again, but only ever so slightly. "Alright, well, I'm glad for that…but, then—what are you doing here?"

As she took a few more slow steps toward the bed he began to see her more clearly in the dark. Her eyes shone with emotion, and her face was pure innocence.

"I didn't mean to alarm you," Sakura repeated, almost to the edge of the bed now. "I just—I had this feeling…I don't feel safe anywhere else. Only with you…"

She was close enough to the bed now to see his eyes widen at her comment. They widened even more when she took her last step toward the bed and slipped off her pink cardigan, dropping it casually onto the floor.

A chill rushed up her newly bared arms as she crawled up to kneel on the edge of the bed.

"Sakura…" he practically whispered, his voice suddenly very low.

"I had to come," she whispered. "I was so scared…I need to feel you."

He swallowed hard, and his eyes glazed over as Sakura stretched out her arm to crawl forward and the slim strap of her tank top slipped off her shoulder.

As she reached him she placed her hand gently just above his knee. He saw now that her eyes were full of tears, and he instinctively reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him.

She whimpered as she buried her face in the space between his neck and shoulder, and he could feel her tears running down his bare chest.

He squeezed her tighter, and she looked up at him, eyes & face damp. "I want to stay with you. I don't want to leave," she pleaded with him.

"I don't want you to leave either," he reassured her soothingly. "Of course you can stay."

She smiled up at him, obviously relieved. "I knew you'd protect me."

He shifted his body slightly and looked down at her, cupping her face in his hands. "I will always protect you, Sakura—with my life."

Something changed in her eyes then, and it was a look he had never seen in her before. Unsure, he started to pull his hands away from her face.

With one hand she reached up and grabbed one of his wrists, keeping his hand pressed lightly against her cheek. With her other hand she reached up and ran her hand through his silky hair, running her thumb along his jaw line.

She stretched her face up towards him, and his unoccupied hand fell to naturally rest on her waist. She smiled at the contact, and continued to raise her face towards his.

She finally paused, their lips just inches apart. They were both breathing in small gasps now, lips parted, the warm breaths exchanged between them tickling each other's lips.

Parts of him felt like there was ice water running through his veins; other parts felt like they were laced with liquid fire. His breathing quickened as he saw her beautiful aquamarine eyes tracing the contours of his lips.

Without thinking he tightened his hold on her waist and pulled her toward him just the slightest bit. A small gasp escaped her as she realized it was the small amount of encouragement she had been waiting for.

She quickly closed the small distance still left between them and pressed her lips against his desperately. His eyes widened, then closed dreamily as he pressed his lips into hers, his hand moving from her waist to the small of her back.

She gave a small murmur of appreciation, and the sound seemed to bring him out of his daze. He broke their kiss and pushed Sakura back a few inches, holding her by her shoulders.

"Please, Sakura, we can't do this. You're upset about something, and emotional. I don't think you really meant to do that," he said, turning his face slightly away from her in embarrassment.

She delicately touched his chin with her fingertips and turned his face back towards her. "I absolutely did mean to do that," she answered, running her index finger along the bottom edge of his lower lip, "and I've wanted to do that longer than you will ever know."

"But I can understand your apprehension," she reassured him, sitting back on her heels. "Maybe we should just go to sleep for now."

"Alright," he answered, "I'll go sleep on the couch."

She grabbed his arm to stop him from getting up. "No, I want to sleep here with you. Please," she begged, completely sincere. "Please don't leave me."

His resolve melted at her pleading words, and he slid back into his place on the bed, lying down on his back. Sakura lay down next to him on her side, placing her head gently on his chest.

He was more than surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and draped one of her long legs over his. He was going to protest, but she seemed so at ease he didn't want to disturb her.

"Goodnight, and thank you," she murmured softly, on the edge of sleep. "Goodnight, Sakura," he replied, closing his eyes. A few minutes later he opened them again, gazing down at the top of her head. She was completely still, breathing softly as she slept.

"I've wanted this too, Sakura," he whispered, finally settling down to sleep.

A small smile flickered onto Sakura's lips, though he did not see it.

* * *

Any guesses as to who the other character is?! ;) 


End file.
